Dr Sacks told the Jewish Chronicle that he was ready to back military action by America and Britain against Saddam Hussein if certain conditions were met.

He said the campaign must have "clear and achievable aims, must be supported by a broad international coalition and all possible precautions must be taken to prevent civilian casualties".

Church leaders, including Dr Williams, have insisted that action by the West would be justified only if backed by a fresh mandate from the United Nations and that, even then, they might withhold their support.

Dr Williams said in his Christmas message that, despite their expertise, strategists could create "havoc and suffering" and other bishops have said there was no justification for war "at this juncture".

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Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, voiced his concern that war with Iraq was increasingly regarded as inevitable.

Dr Sacks, who has just returned from a trip to Israel, said the world should reflect on the Israeli air force's attack on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, which was widely criticised at the time.

"If not for that air attack, the world would today be facing a virtually impossible situation," he said.

A senior communal source gave a warning that Dr Sacks's views were not to be seen as representing the Jewish community, in which "there are differing views just as there are in the community at large".